New Leaves on an Ancient Tree
by CrystalDragon791
Summary: Years after Pein's failed invasion and Sasuke's return, the Leaf Village finds enough peace to raise the Next Generation of Leaf ninja. Fun, friendship, and chaos inevitably ensues! NaruHina, SasuSaku, ShikaTema, NejiTen, KibaIno, all parents.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: Hi guys! Okay, so the kids fic is working out better than the weddings fic at the moment, so I'll go back and post the weddings when I actually know what's going to happen…it's very hard to make the same ceremony interesting when it's repeated every single chapter. So, in the meantime, here's the Next Generation of Leaf Shinobi, as seen by—well, me! Kishimoto has the parents, but the kids are all mine. (And yes, that counts as a disclaimer)**_

Prologue

This dossier contains a report on the most important building block of the Leaf Village, the essential component no ninja village can hope to thrive without, the deciding factor in determining the future of an entire country—the next generation of shinobi.

The Leaf Village is home to many powerful clans, each with a special technique or chakra style, but several clans became of significance in this matter, all of them on a level above the other, unnamed clans: Uzumaki, Uchiha, Hyuuga, Nara, and Inuzuka. Every citizen of the Village was anxious to learn what offspring would be produced from their most powerful young ninja.

First, there was Naruto Uzumaki and his wife Hinata, the son of Minato Namikaze and the daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga, the anticipated Sixth Hokage and an heir to the Hyuuga clan, the wielders of Rasengan and Juken, and she a carrier of her clan's _kekkei-genkai_, the Byakugan.

Second, Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, revivers of the Uchiha clan and the Sharingan, students of sannin, users of the Chidori and unfathomable strength, and altogether mightier than words could express.

Third, came Neji and Tenten Hyuuga—one could only imagine what kind of damage his Byakugan techniques, combined with her legendary marksmanship, could wreak.

Next was Shikamaru and Temari Nara, arguably the couple with the highest IQ; added to his shadow techniques and her wind chakra, there was no telling what an asset their offspring would be.

Last (but absolutely not least), there came Kiba and Ino Inuzuka. His ferocity and heightened senses plus her healing powers, mind-switching jutsus, and interrogation techniques equaled fearsome new genin, without a doubt.

With these powerful ninja coupled as they were, one can see how important it was to document their…developments.

The following pages contain detailed information about the offspring that sprung from these marriages, in broad terms, beginning at their births and ending in the present.

_**AN: Hold on to your hats, guys…the ride gets bumpier from here! :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: I posted the unedited version of this chapter by mistake. Sorry! This is the edited chappie, complete with thanks to Tobi'sgoodgirllovesSasuSaku, lindon2, and Ayase Reincarnated for reviewing the prologue, and to for reviewing the old version of this chapter. For a disclaimer, see previous chappie.**_

Chapter 1: Team 8

The firstborn in the Uchiha litter was Sanosuke, a strong healthy boy. He inherited his father devastatingly handsome features, and coal black hair, offset by his mother's striking green eyes. Although the majority of his looks came from his father, Sanosuke's frame was leaner and more fine-boned than Sasuke's, and the son let his hair grow out in the back instead of the duck-butt style of the father.

In his mannerisms, however, Sanosuke was entirely unique to his parents. A loner by nature, Sanosuke rarely spoke unless he had something worthwhile to say. Yet, in his silence, there was also an inherent kindness and gentleness, especially where his younger siblings and those of his friends were concerned. He was patient, honest, and protective to the bone, and though he had trouble making friends, the ones he had were worthy of the priceless value he placed on them.

By age six, Sanosuke exhibited a mastery of the Uchihas' fireball jutsu and a touch of Itachi's brilliant mind, with none of Itachi's darkness. He graduated from the Ninja Academy at ten years old, two years earlier than his father and mother, and was the pride of the renewed Uchiha clan.

Conversely, the first child of Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki was a girl, whom they named Kiyomi. She was exquisitely beautiful, but didn't resemble either of her parents—those who were old enough to remember swore she was the image of Kushina, Naruto's mother, down to the rich red color of her hair. Her eyes were a brighter shade of blue than any Hyuuga's had a right to be, but were still pale and pupil-less with the Byakugan.

Kiyomi was a bright, happy little girl, as outgoing and fun-loving as her dad. She wasn't as oblivious as Naruto, thanks to Hinata's perceptive influence, but Kiyomi had that same ability to (as Tsunade had once put it) "make everyone want to bet on" her. And, to top it off, she also inherited her parents' combined stubbornness and outrageous courage.

However, Kiyomi also inherited a trait that neither of her parents could relate to: her grandfather Minato's prodigious intelligence. Combined with her vast supply of chakra (the only thing any of Naruto's children ever received from the Nine-Tale Fox), Kiyomi's intellect enabled her to enter the Academy at an early age and graduate when she was ten. Despite her prestigious accomplishments, however, the Leaf Village had never known such a down-to-earth, humble, yet feisty little kunoichi.

_Flashback:_

_Five-year-old Kiyomi gripped her father's black and orange robe in one tiny hand as they passed slowly through the crowd, hindered by the multitude of villagers who wished to greet the top candidate for Sixth Hokage. Kiyomi ignored them as politely as she could, staring avidly at the twinkling lights of the festival. Booths were set up on either side of the street, with their vendors advertising the wares at the top of their lungs. Everyone laughed and smiled, a pageantry of colorful _yukatas_ and somber _haoris_ queuing up to greet her parents._

_Suddenly, the crowds parted, making way for a tall, black-haired man and a beautiful pink-haired woman. Kiyomi's mother excused herself from the Hyuugas she conversed with to welcome the pink-haired woman, embracing her warmly._

"_Who's that, Daddy?" Kiyomi inquired. She recognized the couple as close friends of her parents, but couldn't recall their names._

"_That's your Aunt Sakura," Naruto replied. "She's in charge at the hospital." Kiyomi's eyes widened—even at such a young age, she knew the significance of leading the village's medic nin. "She's also married to your Uncle Sasuke, here, the head of the Uchiha clan."_

"_Naruto," the dark man acknowledged, bowing his head a little. The Jinchuuriki returned the gesture with a wide grin and a hearty handshake. _

"_You're an ANBU captain, aren't you?" Kiyomi piped up. Sasuke looked down at her, smiling ever-so-slightly. _

"_Yes, I am," he replied. "Might you be Kiyomi?"_

"_Yes!" the redhead responded gleefully. Then she caught sight of Sasuke's small shadow. "Hello!" she called brightly. "Who're you?"_

_Green eyes in a pale face peered around Sasuke's black _haori._ The ANBU captain rested a gentle hand on his son's shoulder and said, "Say hello, Sanosuke." Sanosuke stepped out into the open, examining the grinning pair. _

"_Hello," he said politely._

"_Hi!" Kiyomi rejoined. "I'm Kiyomi Uzumaki, what's your name?"_

"_Sanosuke Uchiha." The black-haired boy cocked his head slightly. "You're the next Hokage's daughter," he remarked, looking up at Naruto's whiskered face._

_Kiyomi shrugged. "I guess," she said indifferently. "He _is _the strongest ninja in the village."_

_Sanosuke frowned. "No, my father is."_

_Now it was Kiyomi's turn to tilt her head. "How do you know?" she asked curiously._

_Sanosuke's eyes widened—the Uchiha heir was startled that he didn't have an answer._

"_Settle down, you two," Sakura commanded as she and Hinata came over. "You're as bad as your dads." Sasuke and Naruto smiled sheepishly at their wives._

_Kiyomi tugged at her mother's _yukata_. "Mama, can I play with Sanosuke tomorrow?" she begged. Hinata looked at Sakura questioningly._

"_Of course," the pink-haired woman answered. "It's my day off tomorrow, so I can watch them while Sasuke's off training with Naruto. You can drop the other kids off, too, if you want."_

"_Yay!" Kiyomi exclaimed, clapping her hands delightedly. Turning to a taken aback Sanosuke, she pointed at him and said, "We're going to be friends, Sanosuke Uchiha. Just wait and see."_

_Sanosuke smirked._

_End Flashback._

Kiyomi was as good as her word. With their amused parents looking on, the pair grew to be the best of friends, though Sanosuke daily claimed that Kiyomi talked too much and Kiyomi complained that Sanosuke didn't know how to have fun. Nevertheless, an irrevocable bond formed that lasted through a pack of younger siblings and their days at the Academy. When they graduated, Kiyomi and Sanosuke were silently certain that there was only room enough in their friendship for the two of them—but it only took another offspring of the Hyuuga clan to prove them wrong.

Hizashi Hyuuga, son of Neji and Tenten Hyuuga, was the spitting image of his mother. Excepting the pale lavender eyes he'd inherited from Neji, Hizashi exhibited Tenten's traits to the letter, from her stubbornness to her caring nature to her early aptitude for marksmanship. Granted, he held off on the tantrums Tenten was known for as a genin, but Hizashi was still infinitely more sociable than his father.

His shoulder-length brown hair (which he wore pulled back in a short ponytail with two thin locks framing his face) had his mother's golden tint; his complexion held her healthy glow. And, thanks to improved relations between the main branch and side branches of the Hyuuga clan, Hizashi was recognized as a precocious child. His great-uncle Hiashi ensured his early enrollment in the Ninja Academy, and—though not the outstanding prodigy his father was—graduated at the age of ten, instead of the usual twelve.

It was only natural, then, that the three brightest, youngest, and most gifted of that class were grouped in the same genin team…

_Flashback:_

"_All right, guys," the lazy-voiced jounin drawled. "I'm Shikamaru Nara, your new sensei. Starting with you," he pointed at Sanosuke, "tell me your names and one major goal that you have. Don't talk too much, though." He looked at Sanosuke._

"_Sanosuke Uchiha," the genin said stoically. "I want to be an ANBU captain, like my father."_

"_Kiyomi Uzumaki," the redhead next to him piped up. "I want to get really powerful so I can protect the village."_

"_Do you want to be Hokage?" Shikamaru wanted to know._

"_Maybe," Kiyomi replied. "I don't know yet."_

_Shikamaru nodded his understanding and turned to his last student._

"_Hizashi Hyuuga," the brunet said confidently. "I want to make my clan proud, but I want to do it my way."_

_Shikamaru smirked to himself. "Let me tell you something right now," he told the trio. "I only took this job because everyone went on and on about how smart you three are. I still think they were exaggerating a bit, but you're definitely not idiots. More importantly, I like your attitudes. You want to learn, and you seem to recognize that reaching your goals will take a lot of work. Which means that you won't complain when the going gets tough. However," he went on, stroking his scruffy goatee, "I'm not going to delude you into thinking you're perfect. Sanosuke, you think too highly of yourself. It's not as bad as your dad used to be, but it's still a drag. Kiyomi, you're as loud and annoying as your dad at his worst. Hizashi, you need a dose of realism. The odds of pleasing the Hyuuga clan and staying true to yourself are stacked against you."_

"_That's enough!" Kiyomi protested, jumping to her feet. "Don't you shoot down his dreams like that!" Sanosuke and Hizashi stared at their female teammate. "The more challenging a goal is, the better," Kiyomi went on. "It means that Hizashi has the guts never to give up on it, never! And who are you to judge us when you've hardly seen us before? You don't even know us!"_

_Shikamaru stared Kiyomi down, his sharp brown eyes boring into her sky blue. The redhead held steady, not blinking. Sanosuke and Hizashi watched the silent contest quietly, tensed._

_After a minute, the astonishing occurred: Shikamaru smiled smugly and closed his eyes. Kiyomi, Sanosuke, and Hizashi relaxed, dumbfounded._

"_Definitely like Naruto," they heard him murmur. Straightening, Shikamaru strolled out of the classroom, holding the door open. "Aren't you three coming? I thought you'd want to start training as soon as possible."_

_The three genin scrambled after their sensei, their spirits lifted. Walking down the hallway, Hizashi whispered, "Thanks for standing up for me in there. You didn't have to do that."_

_Kiyomi opened her mouth to reply, but Sanosuke beat her to it. "Yes, she did," he told the Hyuuga. "That's just how she is. Get used to it."_

_Kiyomi grinned at her friend. "You want to go to Ichiraku's with us after training? We're probably going to work up an appetite."_

_Sanosuke groaned. "Ramen _again_? Do you eat anything else?" Kiyomi just giggled._

_Hizashi smiled at his teammates. "I'd like that."_

_Ahead of them, Shikamaru smiled to himself._

_End Flashback._

From then on, Neji and Tenten became a permanent addition to the Uzumaki-Uchiha circle. The adults were already good friends with each other—the friendship between their firstborns only brought them closer together.

For their part, Kiyomi, Sanosuke, and Hizashi became the new Team 8 under Shikamaru Nara (who, though he'd never admit it, secretly enjoyed teaching the precocious trio).

However, Team 8 was compromised of only the first three children to be born to the Leaf Twelve—by the time Kiyomi and Sanosuke met at the festival, there were already additional offspring on the scene.

_**AN: Yay! REVIEW!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Hey guys! Sorry about the confusion with the last chapter, I was just a little spacey that day. This chappie, like the last one, will have some old characters mixed in with the new—I own the ones you've never heard of before are mine, the ones you know are Kishimoto's. Thanks to**_

_**--LazyNinja**_

_**--Tobi'sgoodgirllovesSasuSaku**_

_**for reviewing the last chappie! Here ya go!**_

Chapter 2: Team 7

The year that Kiyomi Uzumaki, Sanosuke Uchiha, and Hizashi Hyuuga celebrated their first birthdays, a second trio of children was born to the Leaf Twelve.

A little boy was born to Naruto and Hinata Uzumaki, with his dad's blond hair and his mom's blue-gray eyes. As they'd agreed, they named him Minato, after Naruto's father and the Fourth Hokage. Besides the pale eyes he'd inherited from the Hyuuga side of the family, Minato was the spitting image of his dad and granddad, with the same spiky blond hair and wide, goofy smile.

Even as a baby, Minato also exhibited the hyperactive behavior his dad was prone to, though he wasn't as loud-mouthed—unlike his father, whose formative years were compromised of schemes that would garner attention to replace the devotion of a parent, Minato knew what it was to be loved both by his parents and the rest of the Village. However, Minato was still as dopey, fun-loving, and openly friendly as his dad. His personality matched that of his sister so well that the two of them were often in league together to perpetrate some sort of prank or another.

_Flashback:_

_6-year-old Minato stared up at his dad with his innocent face on, silently hoping it would get him out of trouble. 7-year-old Kiyomi, at his side, pouted prettily to enhance her own puppy-dog look. The man that had caught them, Ebisu, gripped their thin shoulders harder as he presented them to the newly-appointed Hokage. _

"_So you found them near the footbridge, you say?" Naruto was asking. "The one by the bathhouses?"_

"_That is correct, Lord Hokage," Ebisu answered promptly. "They were about to jump into the river!"_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow at his two oldest children. "Really? Well, they both know how to swim, Ebisu. That doesn't warrant hauling them up here."_

"_But, Lord Hokage," Ebisu protested. "They were holding the flower arrangement you ordered to be sent to the Kazekage, upon the third birthday of his twins!"_

_Naruto's blond brows snapped together with an almost audible _click_, and Minato knew he and Kiyomi were done for. Their dad was close to the Kazekage, and even though Gaara no Sabaku probably wouldn't have minded if the gift had been a few days late, Naruto often said that he was particular about being punctual with Gaara because he'd arrived too late one too many times in their friendship already. Minato didn't really understand what that meant, but he knew what was coming next—nothing good._

"_Daddy, we didn't know those flowers were for Chiyoko and Sunamaru," Kiyomi put in petulantly. "Uncle Kiba's always going on about how a wreath from the Yamanaka Flower Shop would never fall apart, and we wanted to see if it was true." With her blue eyes wide and shining and the apology in her voice, Minato almost believed her himself._

_Naruto kneeled so he was on a level with his daughter. "I believe that you didn't know they were for Chiyoko and Sunamaru," he told her gently. "But what kind of Hokage would I be if I thought the second part of your story is true?"_

_Drat. Time for Plan B—Tell the Truth Before Dad Can Make Us and therefore Spare Our Pride in front of the Closet Perv Who Caught Us._

"_Dad?" Minato piped up._

"_Yes, Minato?"_

"_We, uh, we…" the small blond trailed off into muttering._

"_What was that, son?"_

_Minato exhaled gustily and shot an apologizing look at his sister. Kiyomi smiled encouragingly, understanding. "We took the flowers because it's funny to make the vein stand out on Aunt Ino's forehead."_

_Ebisu fell down to the accompaniment of a gong hit—Naruto sweat-dropped. _

"_THAT IS NO GOOD REASON TO STEAL GIFTS FOR THE KAZEKAGE—" the bespecled man began._

"_Ebisu, I think I can handle this one," Naruto interrupted. Turning to Minato and Kiyomi, the Hokage said, "I can understand why you think that, but your Aunt Ino is also a very vengeful person; you two should know that."_

"_We do, Daddy," Kiyomi insisted. _

"_She got real mad at Uncle Kiba when he messed up her flower garden," Minato added earnestly. "He had to take two days off from work to recover!"_

_Naruto grinned toothily. "Good, you remembered. Then you'll both know what a big deal it is when I say that I'll leave your punishment up to her."_

_Kiyomi's eye twitched—Minato grabbed his sister around her waist and buried his face in her stomach, terrified._

"_Don't worry. She likes you two, so she'll probably let you live."_

_End Flashback_

The two eldest Uzumaki siblings got into many scrapes like that together, and with Kiyomi's brilliant mind and Minato's recklessness, some of their pranks were highly inventive.

No matter how inventive the scheme, however, one thing always tethered Minato to the civilized world: the Uchiha born the same year he was. Named Mikoto after Sasuke's mother, Sanosuke's precious little sister had Sakura's pink hair and Sasuke's black eyes. She was petite from birth, but strong in a wiry way, and she treated Minato with the same attitude that Sakura had once treated Naruto—grudging annoyance with a hint of amusement. Mikoto was quiet like her father and brother, but sweet and optimistic…to everyone who was not Minato, that is. She was athletic, as well, spending her crawling years climbing every obstacle she could get her hands on and her walking years in taijtusu classes. At age six, she even started studying informally under Gai and Rock Lee, though refused point-blank to wear a matching green jumpsuit. Mikoto adored her big brother, Sanosuke, and he returned her affection gladly; they were as close as Kiyomi and Minato, in their way…

_Flashback:_

_Mikoto drilled herself relentlessly in the Uchiha's private training ground, denting the wooden poles around her with fearsome punches and kicks. Sweat dampened her pink hair and flushed cheeks, soaking her loose training clothes. She whirled to a sudden stop, panting heavily._

"_You're overdoing it again," a quiet voice said. Mikoto turned to see Sanosuke leaning against the door into the house, watching her intently._

"_Am not," she retorted with a frown._

"_Are too," Sanosuke replied. "You're only eight, you can't handle the training that Gai and Lee put themselves through yet."_

"_I'm going to be a kunoichi, Sanosuke," Mikoto reminded him severely. "Girls have to train harder than boys to keep up with their teammates. Your muscles develop genetically, even if you don't train—ours don't. I have to get started now."_

_Sanosuke raised an ebony eyebrow. "Have you been going through Mother's medical books again? Because if you have, you'll also know that girls naturally have a higher pain tolerance and more endurance than boys." Mikoto just stared at him. Sighing softly, Sanosuke walked over to his sister. "Show me your hands."_

_Mikoto extended her palms, but Sanosuke flipped them over, examining her knuckles. "You're not building up enough callus on your knuckles. Practice your punches against hard dirt or stone. They work faster than wood. And your left side kicks are looking a lot better—good job. Just don't forget to work on your ninjutsu and genjutsu. How's your Fireball coming along?"_

"_I showed it to Daddy last week—he said he couldn't have done it better himself." Mikoto smiled proudly. "I want to learn the Chidori, though, not just Fireball jutsus."_

_Sanosuke grinned. "Oh, fine, rub it in."_

"_Hey! It's not my fault your chakra type isn't right for Chidori!"_

"_Well, if you don't have a rest and something to eat soon, Father and Mother will say it's_ my_ fault. Will you please come inside and cool off?"_

_Mikoto smiled up at Sanosuke, took his hand, and led him toward the house. "All right, I'll save you from them—but just this once!"_

"_That's what you said last time."_

_End Flashback_

Once Kiyomi and Sanosuke graduated and formed Team 8 with Hizashi and Shikamaru, however, they simply didn't have as much time to spend with Minato and Mikoto. Inevitably, the squabbling pair became closer in an old-married-couple way, bickering just for the fun of it. Minato would say something idiotic, Mikoto would hit him over the head, Minato would make a weak joke, and observers got a nice laugh out of the performance. Because the two weren't as overwhelmingly intellectually gifted as their siblings, they graduated from the Academy at the normal age of twelve, and formed a team with a classmate who could've graduated early if he'd wanted to, but had found it to be a drag.

Shikaru Nara was the first child and son of Shikamaru and Temari Nara, with his father's IQ, lack of ambition, and sharp brown eyes. He'd inherited Temari's sandy blonde hair and witty sarcasm, as well as her wind chakra, though he preferred to use the shadowy techniques of his clan. Shikaru fell asleep in class and enjoyed cloud watching, but also had an appreciation for the bossy women in his life who made him get up and _do_ things. Unlike his dad, he didn't harbor any misconceptions about overbearing women; sure, being told what to do was a huge drag, but bossy people made the world interesting. And, as Shikaru discovered when he was teamed up with Mikoto and Minato, bossy people weren't the only ones who could keep him awake.

_Flashback:_

"_Kakashi is a strange sensei," Mikoto commented as she, Minato, and Shikaru waited for their orders at Ichiraku. "I wonder what test he's going to give us?"_

"_Dunno," Minato mumbled through a mouthful of ramen. "Make sure you don't eat breakfast tomorrow, though—he wouldn't joke about food."_

"_You do realize that your dinner will still be digesting when we take the test?" Mikoto demanded exasperatedly. "Especially since you eat so much. I've seen cows with better table manners!"_

"_Relax, Mikoto, sheesh. You aced every test at the Academy, so this one should be no problem for you. And I do not eat like a cow, I'm just hungry."_

"_You're always hungry," Mikoto returned. "And I just wish I knew what we were being tested _on_. Shikaru, wake up! How can you sleep at a time like this?!"_

"_With my eyes closed," Shikaru replied crossly, thoroughly annoyed. "And just ask your parents."_

"_Huh?" Minato and Mikoto chorused._

"_Your parents were Kakashi's last team, remember?" Shikaru elaborated with the air of someone explaining the obvious. "Just ask them what the test was on."_

"_Hey, that's a great idea!" Minato exclaimed excitedly. "Dad can tell me the answers!"_

"_You dope!" Mikoto yelled, bashing Minato's face into his ramen bowl. "That's called cheating, Minato!"_

_Minato floundered around, muffled cries issuing from the dish. Mikoto ignored him. Shikaru lifted his head from the countertop to stare at his teammates, propping his cheek against his fist. "Is it always like this?" he asked the cook, a little plaintively, a little amusedly._

_The old man smiled and nodded. "Always."_

"_Mikoto! What'd ya do that for?"_

"_Be quiet, Minato, you know what for!"_

"_If I knew, I wouldn't be asking!"_

"_Well, you _should_ know, anyway, you're not that stupid!"_

_Shikaru hid a small smile. At least they promised to be interesting._

_End Flashback._

And so, Minato Uzumaki, Mikoto Uchiha, and Shikaru Nara became the new Team 7 under Kakashi Hatake. Though always arguing, the three genin were great friends, and complemented each other on missions extremely well. Shikamaru and Temari got back in touch with the Uzumakis and Uchihas, and Neji and Tenten, and prepared to sit back and watch the chaos wrought by their offspring begin.

_**AN: Hehe Minato's flashback was sooo fun to write :) I do love making Ebisu look like an idiot. I'm worried that I made Mikoto too serious though…*gnaws on fingernails* Well, c'mon guys, tell me! Whatcha think??? REVIEW!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN: Okay, here we go. Big hugs and thanks to**_

_**--wolfrider93 (Thanks. You have **_**no**_** idea how long it took to figure all the names out!)**_

_**--John1993 (Honestly, I don't think I'll be doing future fics along this vein…but I'm trying to make each successive chapter as comprehensive as possible. Keep me updated on how you think I'm doing.)**_

_**--lindon2**_

_**--Tobi'sgoodgirllovesSasuSaku (Hehehehe…yes, I'm planning to write about Sanosuke's conception in my wedding fic once I get all this out of my head. Heehee :3)**_

_**for reviewing the last chapter. And, I realize that it's a lot to keep track of, but I'd really appreciate it if you guys could tell me if I'm doing the characterization right. It's been bugging me. Disclaimer: Do not own Kishimoto's characters, just their offspring.**_

Chapter 3: Team Kurenai

The year after Minato, Mikoto, and Shikaru were born was fondly known as "The Year of the Girls" in the Uzumaki-Uchiha-Hyuuga-Nara group. Three little girls, born within three weeks of each other, to three of the most powerful clans in the Leaf Village appeared that year, and they promised to keep life exciting.

The eldest was Sayuri Uchiha, the image of her mother from cherry blossom hair to jade green eyes. One thing alone physically set her apart from Sakura—a normal sized forehead. Ino Inuzuka got a real kick out of that single distinction between mother and daughter, and she never let Sakura forget it.

Personality-wise, Sayuri was much more lively than her older siblings. She was a happy-go-lucky little girl, the kind of person you could tell would grow up with the ability to get high on life. She was independent, too, even though she adored being with Sanosuke and Mikoto—Sayuri wasn't scared of not having a lot of friends or of what people thought of her, a trait much admired amongst the rest of her family (though she never knew it). Sayuri also had a temper, and though it took a lot to get her mad, when she did, calming her down was like trying to stop a boulder from rolling down a mountain.

_Flashback:_

_The older, nameless boy shoved Sayuri to the ground, laughing when she cried out. "Don't you say that about my father!" she screamed, tears of rage pooling in her eyes._

"_Why don't you get up and make me?" the boy retorted. His little gang of bullies, crowded behind him, laughed appreciatively. "Sasuke Uchiha is a traitor—he doesn't deserve to be an ANBU captain!"_

"_Take it back!" Sayuri shrieked, catapulting off the dusty ground and launching herself at her tormenter. She felt her flailing fists connect with his pudgy bulk a few times before meaty hands grasped her shoulders and threw her to the ground again._

"_And I haven't even gotten started on your mom," the boy leered. Sayuri's breath caught. "She's weak for having married a traitor like Uchiha. She hardly even goes on missions anymore, does she? Just works at the hospital all day…a real sannin would do more for their village than sit at a desk and do paperwork all day!"_

"_Shut your fat mouth!"_

"_And your brother? A genius? Please! I was in his class at the Academy, and he was no genius—that's all the Uchihas will ever be, idiot traitors destined to leave their friends for power."_

"_SHUT UP!" Sayuri flew at the bigger boy more furiously than before, her eyes flashing red once before she leapt among the horde of bullies and started going at them with the moves she'd seen Mikoto practicing earlier that day. The older kids were surprised, at first, but then they got their act together and tried to dog-pile her. Sayuri felt one of them knock the wind from her stomach, and a sharp pain in her scalp when another pulled her hair, but she didn't care, just kept hitting anything she could get her hands on. She just wanted them to hurt, so they'd know never to say those things again._

_Suddenly, the crowd dispersed, and friendly hands helped her sit up. Sayuri struggled blindly, not wanting to be seen beaten and embarrassed, with enraged tears streaming down her dirty cheeks._

"_Sayuri, calm down!" That voice stopped the little eight-year-old cold. Sayuri looked slowly up into the eyes of her older brother, Sanosuke. Hovering behind him were Kiyomi Uzumaki and Hizashi Hyuuga, their expressions kind._

"_Sorry, Sanosuke," the little pinkette muttered, looking away. Now she'd been beaten in front of her brother and his teammates, three of the few people she respected. Perfect._

"_Sayuri, look at me." When she didn't comply, Sanosuke's firm fingers found their way under her chin and turned her face to his. The oldest Uchiha conducted a brief inspection, examining Sayuri's skin for bruises._

"_Are you hurt?" Kiyomi asked in her direct way._

"_Only my pride," Sayuri replied bitterly._

_Hizashi chuckled. "Well, I can't say as much for those other guys. You whipped them good."_

"_It's a poor reflection on those genin when an Academy student can give them a run for their money," Kiyomi added with a grin._

_One side on Sayuri's mouth quirked upwards in spite of herself. Sanosuke extended his hand and helped her to her feet. "Go on home, now. Mother will fix you up."_

"_Sanosuke?" Sayuri said as her brother turned away. He looked back, his eyebrows raised. "I'm sorry. I got mad because they were badmouthing Mother and Father."_

_Sanosuke, Kiyomi, and Hizashi's expressions instantly turned stony. "What did they say?"_

_Sayuri shook her head furiously. "I can't repeat it—it was too horrible."_

"_Please, Sayuri?" Kiyomi asked._

_Sayuri bit her lower lip and shut her eyes tight. "The big one called Father a traitor and Mother weak and Sanosuke an idiot," she said hurriedly, the tears resurfacing with the abominable words. She held them in as best she could—Uchihas were strong, Uchihas didn't cry._

_A warm palm landed on her shoulder. Sayuri looked up, surprised, to see Sanosuke standing in front of her. "Good job, little sister. Do you mind if we finish your work?"_

_Sayuri grinned. "As long as you don't get caught!"_

"_Save it for the training yards, Sanosuke," Hizashi advised. "Then no one can say we were out of order."_

_Sanosuke nodded his dark head in agreement. "I'll see you at home, Sayuri. We still have a little work to do with Shikamaru."_

"'_Kay, bye!" Sayuri skipped off gleefully, happy that she'd made her brother proud._

_Kiyomi cocked her red head at Sanosuke. "Are you really going to wait until the training yards?"_

"_Nope."_

_Hizashi chuckled. "I _knew_ that was too easy."_

_End Flashback_

Sayuri brought life and vivacity into the Uchiha household, along with a renewed sense of pride and determination; for no matter how many times she failed at a task, Sayuri always got back up and tried again and again, until she mastered it.

The second of the three girls born that year was Izumi Nara, daughter of Shikamaru and Temari. With her dad's dark brown hair and her mom's blue-green eyes, Izumi was pretty in a sharp, angular way, thin and quick even in her crawling years. In a variation on her mom's hairdo, Izumi's signature style was two spiky-edged pigtails at the base of her neck, complete with short bangs.

As for her personality, Izumi was as smart as her dad, as take-charge as her mother, and as sarcastic and witty as both put together. But that was only on the surface—deep down, Izumi had also inherited her parents' strong sense of loyalty to their friends and family. And, contrary to how Temari behaved in battle, those closest to her could see that Izumi also had her mother's preference for diplomacy over thoughtless fighting.

_Flashback:_

_Izumi frowned as a band of new genin ran past her open window, skidding to a halt in the playground not far away. They braced their hands on their knees, breathless. The biggest one recovered first—he laughed cruelly as soon as he had the breath. _

"_Some ninja they are, if they can't keep up with us," he sneered. "Apparently the Hyuugas and Uzumakis are as worthless as the Uchihas."_

"_You go too far, Dai," a dark-haired girl in sunglasses said in a monotone voice. "You shouldn't have baited the little girl."_

"_I didn't hear you rushing to her defense, Chika," Dai snapped._

"_To my great regret," Chika replied calmly. "But I also did nothing to harm her."_

_The boy at her side snorted. "Not that that'll save you from Sanosuke," he said nervously. "Everyone knows how protective he is of his sisters. We shouldn't have gone after Sayuri."_

_Izumi's dark eyes widened: did these people have a frickin' death wish? 'Cuz if Sanosuke Uchiha had caught them bullying one of his beloved sisters, that's exactly what was in store for them. Izumi raced out of her bedroom and onto the roof, rushing over to her brother and placing herself between Shikaru and the clouds he watched. _

"_Sanosuke Uchiha is coming to pummel a group of genin out by the park," she announced. "Mom and Dad aren't home—are going to do anything about it?"_

_Shikaru raised a blond eyebrow. "Are you?" he asked._

"_I think so," Izumi decided._

_Shikaru sighed. "All right, all right. But don't expect me to do much."_

"_Just stand there and look pretty," his sister advised, holding the door open._

_By the time Izumi had towed her lazy brother downstairs and onto the street, they could see three child-sized figures walking up the road._

"_Kami," Shikaru cursed. "Kiyomi and Hizashi are with him." He glanced down at Izumi. _

"_Yes, I'm sure," she told him firmly, reading his mind as she often did. "I have a plan." Shikaru followed her out into the middle of the conveniently deserted street, a _well this should be interesting_ look smeared over his countenance. The Nara siblings stood in the dusty road with their backs to the small park, Izumi's posture straight and alert, Shikaru's slouched and bored. _

"_Hey, what's the big idea?" someone demanded behind them. Neither Izumi nor Shikaru saw fit to respond—their eyes remained fixed on the oncoming trio. "I said—"_

"_Put a sock in it, Dai," the girl Chika drawled. "Before my dung beetle friend puts something in your mouth I know you won't like."_

"_That's Sanosuke coming down the road!" the nervous boy exclaimed suddenly. "Quick, we've gotta…"_

"_Face them honorably," Chika interrupted again. "If we run, they will just give chase again, and we will make them more angry."_

_Izumi smirked at Shikaru, who returned the glance; everything was going according to plan, and the eldest Nara felt a growing respect for his baby sister._

_Sanosuke, Kiyomi, and Hizashi's pace didn't slow until they reached the Nara siblings. Team 8 halted in front of the two younger kids, wary but oddly relaxed._

"_Well?" Kiyomi asked finally. Shikaru smirked again—leave it to an Uzumaki to break the silence._

_Izumi cocked her head curiously. "Did Sayuri say all of them had bullied her?" she addressed Sanosuke._

_An ebony eyebrow lifted against pale skin. "She may have mentioned that 'the big one' did most of the damage," he conceded tonelessly. "How did you…?"_

"_Window," Izumi replied dismissively. Kiyomi and Hizashi flicked their eyes at the second story of the Nara residence, but Sanosuke kept his gaze locked with Izumi's. "Well, that solves a lot of problems, since I'm sure we can agree that Dai here is the biggest of the lot." Sanosuke glared at the space over Izumi's shoulder, and the hair stood up on her arms and legs even though the look wasn't directed at her._

"_That doesn't change the fact that they were all beating on Sayuri when we got there," Hizashi commented darkly._

"_Really?" Izumi asked. "Every last one?"_

"_Mm," Kiyomi hemmed. "A few of them weren't." Searching the faces of the cornered genin, the redhead identified three genin who hadn't participated in the struggle. The group included Chika, the nervous boy, and a boy with a senbon tucked behind one ear._

"_What's your point, Nara?" Sanosuke growled. Shikaru shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the older boy talking to his sister like that._

"_Revenge isn't righteous to begin with," Izumi informed him smoothly. "But if you can't resist, at least take it out on those who truly deserve it." Shikaru sighed to himself—really, he'd stopped cloud watching for this?_

_Kiyomi and Hizashi waited as Sanosuke examined the little band being guarded by the Nara siblings, his piercing green eyes taking in every twitch and facial expression. Finally, he said, "Whatever." Three voices murmured their thanks and three sets of sandals click-clacked away from the scene. Shikaru turned to go inside, knowing his sister's goal had been accomplished. Izumi followed, satisfied._

_As she passed Dai, the genin snarled and lunged for the eight-year-old, enraged that she had condemned him to the brunt of Team 8's wrath. Sanosuke, Kiyomi, Hizashi, and Dai's remaining companions leapt to restrain him, the former three because one too many little girls had been hurt already that day, the latter because they feared Team 8's reaction if they did nothing._

_Dai landed on his back in the dirt, with Izumi resting one foot smugly on his chest, before the other genin could lay a finger on him. "Next time, attack silently," the girl advised her larger opponent. "Battle cries are dramatic, but indescribably impractical." Leaving three amused, five bewildered, and one thoroughly embarrassed genin behind her, Izumi climbed the two steps onto her stoop. Shikaru waited just inside the door, smirking; he was the only one who hadn't bothered to move. After all, Izumi was her mother's daughter._

_End Flashback_

Izumi soon earned a reputation for being ruthless in combat, a status she held with no small amount of pride. Whenever the subject came up around Shikaru, however, he'd roll his eyes and say, "Try living with her. Waking up to a demolished stereo because you turned it up too loud the night before is _such_ a drag."

With Sayuri and Izumi as vivacious and tenacious as they were, the Leaf Twelve let up a small sigh of relief when the Uzumakis' little girl was born.

Tsukiko Uzumaki was her mother in a miniature, with the same glossy blue-black hair and pale blue-gray eyes. Her complexion had a little more color in it than Hinata's alabaster skin, but Tsukiko was just as quiet and shy as her mother had been as a child. The only difference was, Tsukiko never had a stuttering problem—she just took more pleasure in observation than in action. However, when provoked into action, the beautiful little girl would take on her opponent without a second thought, rarely ever truly afraid.

Sayuri and Izumi noticed this when the three girls entered the Academy at the same time; the very first day, Tsukiko settled under a tree to watch her classmates interact, instead of meeting them herself. Sayuri and Izumi, as the most outgoing of the class, felt it their duty to make friends with her. The three very different girls hit it off at once, spending all their time in and out of school together. And, because there was an excess of kunoichi enrolled that year, Sayuri, Izumi, and Tsukiko took it upon themselves to go where no shinobi had gone before…

_Flashback:_

"_You want to do WHAT?" Naruto asked incredulously, positive he hadn't heard correctly._

"_We want to form an all-girls genin team," twelve-year-old Sayuri replied firmly. _

"_There aren't enough boys graduating from the Academy," Izumi added in her statistical tone. "Just enough to keep the traditional arrangement with the rest of our class if you're willing to let us make our own squad."_

_Naruto leaned back in his chair, reluctantly thinking it over. "Why you three?" he asked at last. "I can't put you together just because you're friends."_

"_It's not about us being friends," Sayuri protested._

"_It's convenient, though, that you're only willing to propose the arrangement if it's you three in the all-girls team."_

"_That's not what we said," Izumi cut in. "We leave it to your discretion, as Hokage, to choose who's in the all-girls team. We're just volunteering for the job."_

"_And why is that?" Naruto wanted to know._

"_We're the strongest kunoichi," Tsukiko spoke up. All heads in the Hokage's office turned to her; she flushed a little, but went on. "We're the three strongest kunoichi in the graduating class, Lord Hokage." She always addressed her father as such in matters like this. "We can handle not having any males on our team."_

_In the following silence, Naruto sighed wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose, somehow resigned. "At least you agree with my reasons," he murmured. In his normal tone, he continued, "Very well. Report to training yard 4 first thing tomorrow morning…Team Kurenai."_

_Sayuri laughed and bounced up and down, Izumi smirked, and Tsukiko grinned. They bounded out of the Hokage's office, Sayuri and Izumi chattering while Tsukiko smilingly brought up the rear. Naruto laughed quietly and shook his head._

"_Lord Hokage, sir?" his head secretary asked._

"_Three of the most extraordinary young women I have ever known just walked out of my office," he mused, uncharacteristically pensive._

"_But why put them under Kurenai's tutelage?" the secretary wanted to know. "She hasn't taught a team since Lady Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame made jounin rank. There are others who could've taught the girls—Lady Hinata, Sakura Haruno, Tenten Hyuuga, Temari Nara, Ino Inuzuka…"_

"_I know," Naruto interrupted. "But Ino doesn't have the temperament for teaching, and I want to give the girls someone who will be harder on them than someone who knows them as well as the others do. Besides, Kurenai _likes_ teaching. I can tell."_

_The secretary bowed her head to hide a smile. "Yes, Lord Hokage. If you will sign this, please?"_

_End Flashback_

As early as Sayuri and Izumi's encounter with Dai, the young ninja of the Leaf Village knew not to mess with the fiery kunoichi-in-training. Tsukiko's involvement and the formation of Team Kurenai only added to the girls' prestige, and the three-woman squad quickly became known as the most formidable of their year's teams.

Two years after Tsukiko's birth, a dark shadow passed over the happiness of the Leaf Twelve, staining it with bitter memories and sleepless nights. A threat rose from the ashes of a haunting past, taking Naruto (not yet Hokage), Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Lee, Sai, Kakashi, Yamato, Gai, and countless other jounin away from their homes and families for a two-year-long mission. Kurenai, Hinata, Sakura, Temari, Tenten, Ino, and other kunoichi and chuunin were given the equally important task of protecting the village while their men were away. In defiance of the stereotypical implications, the women saw as much combat as their men, battling ferociously against an adversary once presumed defeated.

_**AN: Ooh…cliffy. Hope the flashbacks aren't too long and the timeline isn't too confusing—actually, the only reason I have it figured out is because I have it all laid out somewhere. XP Let me know if you'd like an outline or something to keep all this straight. **_

_**Review, people. Or I'll tell Lee you love Gai as much as he does. ***__**deliciously devious smirk***_


	5. Chapter 5

_**AN: Hey people! So, it's time to resolve the little cliffie I left for y'all at the end of the last chapter. I warn you in advance, though, there are no new kiddies in this chapter. However, it's a very important chapter for this story and I had a good time writing it, so there. Thanks to:**_

_**--waterblossomangel13**_

_**--naruto watching freak (read and learn, young genin)**_

_**--xXkickass-kunoichiXx (Patience, Grasshopper! And I can't tell you the kid pairings when not all of them are even born yet! Trust me, I'll get there)**_

_**--hazeymist (How can anyone name anime/mange children with American names?! That's just not right!)**_

_**--PiScEs-BlOsSoM69 (Thank you, dear, Mary Sue's are my deepest fanfiction fear. I'm glad none of my OCs are like that)**_

_**--nightmare wishes (*chuckle* Izumi's one of my favorites, too)**_

_**--wolfrider **_

_**--Tobi'sgoodgirllovesSasuSaku (Well, technically two old enemies reappear, but you'll have to read to find out…)**_

_**for reviewing. You guys rock! To all you non-reviewers: FOLLOW THEIR EXAMPLE! **_

**Warning: This chapter is rated T for content. **

_**I'm certain I posted several disclaimers prior to this chapter, so just refer to them.**_

Reunion

Sakura Uchiha perched atop the wooden palisade surrounding her Village, scanning the treetops all around her for suspicious activity. The mother of three flexed her fingers inside of her silvery gray gloves absently, keeping the muscles loose and limber. Her pink hair—long again in adulthood, but held back with her ninja headband and bound into two slim pigtails in a style reminiscent of her sannin mentor—swayed gently in the minute breeze, along with her knee-length magenta skirt. Gray leggings the same gray as her gloves peeked through the slits on either side of the skirt. A matching magenta vest (with the Uchiha crest surrounded by a white circle embroidered on the back) covered her torso, and her arms were protected by the same light armor that the ANBU used. Jade green eyes swept over the terrain in front of her, forest green gilded golden in the light of the sunset.

"My lady, you should rest," a miniature Katsuyu advised gently at her feet. "The night watch arrived an hour ago."

"We haven't had a report from the men for three days," Sakura replied. "This after two reports a day, one every other at their worst. Something has happened. I can feel it."

"Working yourself to the brink of exhaustion won't bring them home any sooner," Hinata Uzumaki countered quietly, materializing next to her. "I know. I've tried." Her lightweight lavender tunic also bore a combination of her past and future—one sleeve was adorned with a tiny Hyuuga flame, the other with an equally subtle Uzumaki spiral. Light blue leggings hugged her trim thighs, and her headband was tied snugly around her graceful neck. Long, blue-black hair streamed out behind her like a shadowy waterfall. "You're our best medic nin and genjutsu user," the Uzumaki matriarch went on. "We rely on your well-being."

"You're one of the best ninja your clan has ever produced," Sakura countered, her eyes still fastened on the treetops. "We also need you."

Hinata managed a smile. "I'll rest when you do," she offered. Sakura made a face.

"It's funny," the pinkette said suddenly.

"What is?" Hinata inquired.

"It's easier to face Kabuto and the Sound ninja than to go home and tuck my children into bed." Hinata's body stiffened, the relaxed; she bowed her head in sorrow.

"They don't ask when Sasuke will be home anymore," Sakura continued, whispering now. "Sayuri still looks at me with the question in her eyes, but Sanosuke and Mikoto hide it. They're like their father that way."

"Kiyomi's actually taken to comforting _me_," Hinata murmured. "She keeps Minato from thinking about it too much. Tsukiko…she's the most heartbreaking. She sits at the window, every day after her chores are done, just watching the road. When I asked her what she was doing, she said 'waiting'. They all have such faith in him, in us."

Sakura attempted a watery smile. "They get _that_ from the both of you."

The kunoichi let the silence settle for a minute, as the aching lumps in their throats got harder and more painful. "She's three years old, Sakura," Hinata whispered fervently. "He's missed two thirds of her life."

"I know," her friend replied, forcing back tears. She would not cry, she would not cry. "I think the same thing every time I look at Sayuri."

A warm, calloused hand landed on each of their shoulders. "Girls, you need to take a leaf out of the Uzumaki brood's book," Tenten's voice said. "Just be patient. They shouldn't be much longer. And if they are, we'll make them pay for it when they get back."

"We get reports of the casualties," Ino added, leaning on the wall next to Sakura. "We would know if anything went wrong. It's a measure of how great they all are that they haven't suffered any fatalities in two years."

Temari's fan thumped decidedly against the wooden walkway as she used it as a leaning post. "Plus, it's Madara Uchiha _they're_ up against. Cut the boys some slack."

Tenten snorted. "Kabuto _would_ choose the time when everyone's off chasing yet another Uchiha as the time to strike the Leaf Village. I still say they planned this together."

Sakura shook her head, once again in control of herself. "No proof, Tenten. Either way, it's not like it matters what Kabuto did. He, along with any remains of Orochimaru, is gone for good this time."

Temari chuckled blackly. "A simultaneous attack from the five best jounin in the Leaf Village will do that to a man," she commented drily.

"Although burning the corpse was a smart thing to do, Hinata," Ino put in. "Just to be safe."

Hinata nodded, falsely earnest. "I have never found anyone who could put themselves back together again after being reduced to a pile of ashes, so it seemed like a good idea."

Katsuyu stiffened suddenly and slid up the battlements to look out at the surrounding trees. Suddenly, the kunoichi heard it, too—a soft, yet unnatural rustling amongst the leaves. "There." Hinata pointed, her Byakugan activated, and her friends saw the branches directly in front of them bow and tremble in a path that led to the main gate. There were ninjas passing through the forest.

"Hinata?" Temari muttered, shouldering her fan again. "Can you see them?"

"Five—no, seven," the Hyuuga heiress replied. "I can't tell you any more than that, though. They're masking their chakra too well."

Sakura cracked her fingers. "Katsuyu, inform Lady Tsunade of the situation, and of our intention to apprehend the intruders."

"Yes, milady," Katsuyu murmured. "She acknowledges your intentions and requests that you employ extreme caution."

Tenten snorted, shifting the scroll on her back. "It's like she doesn't know us at all."

The five kunoichi sprang off the wall lightly, landing noiselessly in the branches below. Silently, they leapt through the foliage, intent on the sounds of their quarry's passage. The rustling ahead of them first grew louder, then suddenly quieted. The women halted, unnerved by the abrupt change.

Hinata signed in ninja code that they were still coming head on, and some were readying their weapons. Temari and Tenten grinned, readying their own. Sakura, Ino, and Hinata readied their chakra, bracing themselves for the enemy. They had repeated this drill so many times in the past two years, there was a strange comfort in taking up the bloody routine.

The branches in front of them bulged outward ever-so-slightly; Sakura, Hinata, Ino, Tenten, and Temari sprang forward to intercept their adversaries. The ninja burst out of the trees, also prepared for battle. The two groups were exactly six feet away from each other when they registered the other's identity.

Shino and Chouji, at the back of the returning party, disengaged in time to see the inevitable unfold.

Sakura deflected Sasuke's swinging katana with a circular motion of her arm, catching the electrified metal on her armguard. Shielded as her limbs were with huge amounts of chakra, the Chidori—already receding into its master's body—had little to no effect on her. She froze, locked in her husband's ruby gaze and the circle of his arm.

Hinata ripped Naruto's Rasengan apart with her Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, dissipating the globe of chakra and catching his fist. Naruto wrapped his other arm around her shoulders and buried his face into her neck. Hinata put her free hand to his hair.

Tenten found her blade-wielding arms thrust out and away by Neji. Gripping her wrists, he swung her hands over her head and held them there as he stood flush against her body. The intensity of his gaze made her blush.

Ino let Kiba use his momentum to pin her to a tree, Akamaru landing right behind him. Before she could blink, his arms were around her waist, hers around his neck, pulling each other as close as physically possible.

Temari and Shikamaru simply froze the moment they saw each other, she in the middle of swinging her fan and he halfway through his handsigns for his shadow jutsu. They stared at one another wordlessly.

It was a full minute before someone breached the ensuing silence. "I take it Madara is defeated, then?" Temari asked, her voice less shaky than she looked or felt.

Shikamaru cleared his throat. "After a fashion, yes."

"And Kabuto?" Sasuke murmured, still staring at his wife.

Sakura gulped, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. "Same."

"How is the Village?" Neji asked in his quiet way.

"Still there," Tenten whispered.

"The kids?" Naruto demanded, muffled in the crook of Hinata's shoulder.

"Missing you," she replied. "But fine."

"Who did you lose?" Ino asked softly.

Kiba's arms tightened around her. "Genma, Ibiki, and Yamato," he muttered, his voice thick with emotion. "Lee went and got himself wounded again. Sai, too. The others are bringing them—should be here by noon tomorrow. We had to come sooner."

In one smooth movement, Temari folded her fan, reshouldered it, and held a hand out to her husband. "Come home," she beckoned. Shikamaru took her hand. Sasuke sheathed his katana and helped Sakura to her feet. Tenten's weapons disappeared in a puff of smoke; Neji released her hands. Naruto and Kiba pulled away from Hinata and Ino. Holding hands, the five couples silently leapt home through the trees, with Shino and Chouji bringing up the rear.

oOo

When they reached the gate, two civilians were waiting for them. One was tall with coal black hair and extraordinarily fair skin; the other was slim, stocky, and redheaded. Shino and Chouji rushed toward them.

"Yuuki," Shino murmured, taking the hand of the black-haired woman.

"Ayame," Chouji rumbled, smiling as he touched the redhead's cheek.

Simultaneously, the shinobi looked back at their friends with a question. Naruto grinned at them. "Oh, go ahead," he encouraged. "Tsunade won't demand a formal report until the others get back, anyway." Shino and Chouji nodded before separating with their respective sweethearts.

"See you in the morning," Kiba said, drawing Ino onto Akamaru's back. The giant dog bounded away before anyone could protest.

"Ditto!" Naruto called, disappearing over the rooftops with Hinata.

Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Sakura, Tenten, and Temari traded significant looks. Without a word, the three couples also went their separate ways, with the silent understanding that they would rejoin Village life when they were good and ready, thank you very much.

oOo

"Daddy!" Sayuri shrieked when she saw her father come through the door. "Sanosuke! Mikoto! It's Daddy!" With that, the rambunctious pinkette threw herself at her father, who gladly caught her up and hugged her to him tightly. The three-year-old's arms went around Sasuke's neck, her little legs as far around his waist as she could manage. Sayuri buried her face into her father's solid shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent she'd known so well as a toddler. Sakura looked on with misty eyes, a feeling of absolute rightness settling around her shoulders.

Mikoto trotted in from the living room, screeching to a stop when she saw her father in the foyer. Wordlessly, she raced to Sasuke and threw herself at his stomach, holding him in a death grip. Sasuke transferred Sayuri to his right hand and laid his left on Mikoto's back, smoothing it over her bubblegum locks. Her back never quivered, but he could feel a wet stain blossoming on his shirt about where her eyes would be.

Quiet footsteps padded down the stairs down the hall. Sasuke and Sakura looked up to see Sanosuke walking quickly down the length of the foyer, the calm mask on his face slowly slipping away. Sasuke recognized that look—he'd worn it himself, still wore it, and realized that his son was trying to emulate him as a coping mechanism to Sasuke's absence. That look broke his heart, had him handing Sayuri over to Sakura, crouching down, and opening his arms to his son. Mikoto backed off silently, understanding. Sanosuke broke into a sprint, tears spilling from his bright green eyes, and ran into his father's arms. Sasuke caught his son and held him fiercely, rocking back and forth until Sanosuke's noiseless sobs subsided.

Sasuke drew Sakura to him, kissed her, leaned his forehead against hers as their Mikoto hugged their legs. The Uchiha family stood there for a few minutes, whole once again. Slowly, reluctantly, Sakura drew back from the best group hug of her life. "Okay, okay, time for bed." Her children looked at her as if she'd just declared their death sentences. "If you get ready fast enough, you can sleep with Daddy and me tonight," she amended. Immediately redeemed, Sanosuke, Mikoto, and Sayuri scampered upstairs. Sasuke drew his wife closer.

"Our bed?" he asked, thoroughly conflicted.

"Just this once," Sakura promised. "We all need it." Sasuke nodded, though a sliver of regret showed in his ebony eyes. "Still, it'll take them at least ten minutes to get themselves organized…"

Sakura was cut off as Sasuke ravaged her mouth, tasting flavors he'd not sampled in two excruciatingly long years. His breath was her breath, his fire her fire, until they were so twisted and dizzy that neither quite knew which tongue belonged to whom. When Sasuke unconsciously slipped a hand under the edge of her shirt, Sakura forced herself to pull back, even though the pain of separation was like a physical blow. "After," she panted, "after they're asleep. We'll use one of the guest rooms."

Sasuke grinned with lustful intentions, running his fingertips up and down the sensitive skin on the sides of her ribs. He could feel her melting under his influence already. "Is that a promise?" he demanded quietly.

Sakura skimmed her lips up the muscular column of his neck, eliciting an anticipatory shiver from him. "Count on it," she whispered.

"Mama? Daddy?" Sayuri's voice queried from the top of the stairs. Sasuke and Sakura kissed once more before climbing the steps to their children.

oOo

When Temari returned to Shikaru and Izumi's room, the two were already fast asleep again, sprawled across their father's lap. The former Sand kunoichi leaned against the door frame, studying the picture they made.

Shikaru, with his hair as sandy blond as hers, messy in sleep, using Shikamaru's thigh as a pillow. Izumi, her brunette hair out of its pigtails for the night, settled in the corner between her dad's torso and leg. Shikamaru, with his arms cradling each of them, slowly rubbing Shikaru's back and smoothing Izumi's hair. Temari reveled in the quiet moment, the delicious feeling of unity after two long years of separation. Shikamaru looked up, and ensnared Temari's blue-green gaze with his keen brown eyes. He carefully extracted himself from his children, never breaking eye contact with his wife.

"You know, it just occurred to me that I haven't said a proper hello yet," he murmured, running his hands lightly up and down her bare arms.

Temari smiled. "You don't say."

Shikamaru returned the grin. "How do you suppose I can make it up to you?"

Temari bit her lower lip, teasing, delighted to have her intellectual equal back. The old heat was even now stirring at her core. "Well, if you wouldn't consider it to be too much of a drag, my bed's been very cold these past couple of years."

His hands were already moving down to untie her obi. "Your husband wouldn't mind?"

"Who gives a shit what my husband thinks?" Her obi dropped to the floor as her mouth met his, a tangle of tongues and teeth and mingled breath. They stumbled to their bedroom as quietly as they could while still ripping off each other's clothing. The door closed with a soft click, a sharp contrast to the barrage of emotion coursing through their bodies. Temari let her head fall back as Shikamaru continued to feast on her throat. The heat, the fire, running through her as if her blood had turned to lightning. Kami, she'd forgotten what it was like to have her husband in her bed.

When they fell onto the mattress, she managed to gasp out, "So, you're planning on helping me out with my cold bed problem?"

Shikamaru chuckled from somewhere near her stomach. "I don't think you'll be needing a heater this winter, Mrs. Nara."

Temari grabbed his hair and pulled his mouth back to hers, ripping out the rubber band that held his ponytail in place. Shadowy brown locks tickled her collarbone as she whispered, "Just don't tell Mr. Nara."

Shikamaru caressed her lips with his, biting and tenderizing the velvety flesh at a tortuously slow pace. "Wouldn't dream of it."

oOo

Tenten sighed with pleasure, tracing circles on Neji's bare chest. The pale-skinned Hyuuga caught her doodling hand and kissed it, sending another lance of lusty fire shooting to her heart. "Tell me that line, again," she muttered. "The one from the poem you heard while you were gone."

Neji smiled—he'd never known his wife as a woman for poetry before hearing that line. " 'I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you'," he quoted softly. " 'No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed'. That?"

Tenten sighed again, even happier. "Yeah." Everything was right again. Kabuto and Madara were dead, the male jounin had returned from their mission with relatively minor casualties (her heart twinged at the memory of Genma, Ibiki, and Yamato, all of whom were assets to the Leaf Village and good men, to boot), Hizashi slept with a smile on his face down the hall for the first time in two years, and Neji was in her arms again. The look on her son's face when his dad walked in the door…it was enough to melt any mother's heart, as well as Neji's normally unshakeable composure. The look on _his_ face was enough to send the blood coursing more quickly through her body and the heat pooling between her legs. Dammit if fatherhood wasn't dead sexy.

"How are you?" Neji whispered. He kissed the top of her head with enough tenderness to break her heart all over again—as if it wasn't already cracked from raising their child without him for two whole years. Every time she looked at Hizashi, she looked into Neji's eyes.

Tenten hugged her husband tightly, squashing her face against his chest. "As long as you never leave me for that long again, I'll be fine."

Neji took hold of her chin firmly, forcing her to look up at him. His pearly lavender eyes were sad. "You suffered," he whispered. "And not just at the hands of the Sound ninja."

Tenten shrugged. "I missed you," she replied. "Hizashi, too."

Neji's immaculate mouth tightened, and he hugged her close. "I missed you, too," he murmured into her hair. "Both of you. More than you know."

"Wanna bet?" Tenten asked bitterly, but she held him where he was. "As long as you're here for a good long while, I'll get over it. We have a family to keep building, remember."

Neji pulled away, a very male smile growing on his face. "Well, if that's the case, then we'd better get to work."

And once they 'got to work,' Tenten found herself miraculously unable to think of anything but her husband's wondrously muscular body.

_**AN: For the record, NaruHina and KibaIno had similar reunions, and I'm sorry to disappoint, but the scenes above were vital to understanding the next chapter, if you catch my drift…anyway, you know the drill—first to review gets to do the disclaimer for the next chappie, and non-reviewers will be hunted down by resurrected Elder Chiyo at her craziest! REVIEW!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**AN: I apologize profusely if this chapter isn't up to my usual par, but it just did NOT want to be written! Which is a shame, because this chappie contains one of my favorite flashbacks thus far. Thanks to**_

_**--Tobi'sgoodgirllovesSasuSaku (Thanks for all the reallys! And the lemon cookies…:3)**_

_**--LazyNinja (I just had to make Sasuke more warm and fuzzy. I couldn't help myself.)**_

_**--PiScEs-BlOsSoM69 (Chiyo is creepyish when she wants to be, but I still love her!)**_

_**--naruto watching freak (Yeah, Katsuyu is Tsunade's Summoning Beast, so I thought it was appropriate for Sakura to inherit that technique. Maybe I'll tack on the Uzumaki/Inuzuka reunions at the end of the story, as bonus chapters…if everyone's real nice to me…)**_

_**--xXkickass-kunoichiXx **_

_**--wolfrider93 **_

_**--nightmare wishes**_

_**--FMAGreedsgirl**_

_**--hazeymist**_

_**--RealBookAholic (Because I have mystical mind-reading powers…didn't I mention that?)**_

_**--cherryluver19 (It actually never occurred to me to make the next generation another Leaf Twelve…so yeah, there's gonna be an Inuzuka kid, no worries.)**_

_**for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are better than I think I deserve.**_

_**And now…GG, will you do the honors?**_

_**GG: HECK YES! CrystalDragon only owns the characters you've never seen or heard of in the manga/anime. Everyone else is, sadly, belongs to the wondrous Kishimoto. Now one with GGOODNESS!**_

Chapter 5: Team 9

Understandably, the return of the elite male jounin and the celebration of the end of the war initiated a small baby boom in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Leaf Twelve were no exception to this statistical swell—the Uchihas, Naras, and Hyuugas each contributed a child the year following the men's reunion with their families.

Ryuu Uchiha, black-haired and black-eyed with skin paler than marble, turned out to be the most hyperactive of all Sakura and Sasuke's children, despite the tired-looking lines around his eyes that he'd inherited from Itachi and Fugaku. As an infant, he demanded to be held whenever he was awake. And whoever held him had to move or speak while they did so; silence and stillness were unacceptable. Kakashi Hatake once remarked that Ryuu's energy was reminiscent of Sakura during her fangirl days, though Ryuu thankfully didn't display the associated obsessive tendencies.

Kakashi had been there for all of his old team's offspring, and played the loving godfather to all, but there was something more in his relationship with Ryuu. The little, boisterous Uchiha reminded him strongly of a long-dead comrade with the same surname, who had first taught him the importance of teamwork and loyalty.

_Flashback:_

_Six-year-old Ryuu peeked around the branches of the tree, his little hands fisted in the leaves. He watched as Uncle Kakashi approached the big stone, as he stopped and stared at the writing on it. Ryuu cocked his head to one side, wondering what could be so important about standing in a clearing and staring at a rock. Didn't Kakashi have things to do? Ryuu had snuck away from his chores when he saw his uncle pass by, just for something to avoid cleaning his room—didn't Kakashi have to clean his room? Brush his teeth? Train? Sanosuke and Mikoto and Father and Mother were always training—why didn't Kakashi have to? And wasn't he supposed to be teaching Mikoto's Team right now, anyway? She'd left home half an hour ago._

"_Good morning, Ryuu."_

_Ryuu jumped. How had Uncle Kakashi seen him? He didn't have eyes in the back of his head, unless all that silver hair covered them. Still, Ryuu knew better than to ignore his uncle. He stepped out of the trees. "Good morning, Uncle Kakashi. How did you know it was me?"_

_Kakashi chuckled. "When you've been a ninja as long as I have, you learn things like seeing people without them noticing." Ryuu's eyes went big—ninja could _do_ that? How cool! "You're not bad at it, though. Following me. Better than most kids your age."_

_Ryuu glowed on the inside; Uncle Kakashi was a nice man, but he didn't compliment people unless they _really_ deserved it. Then his curiosity got the better of him. "What are you doing here, anyway?"_

_Kakashi's shoulders drooped the tiniest bit. "Come here, Ryuu." Ryuu obeyed, trotting forward to stand at his uncle's side. Kakashi gestured to the big stone. "Do you know what this is?"_

_Ryuu examined the big rectangle for a minute. "A big rock with names on it?" he guessed. _

"_Not quite," Kakashi replied. He pointed to a certain kanji. "Do you know what that says?"_

_Ryuu didn't even have to think about it—that particular name was all over his family's compound. "Uchiha!"_

_Kakashi nodded. "This stone is a monument, a tribute to Leaf ninja who have fallen in battle."_

_Ryuu's brow creased. "What's an Uchiha doing on here? Mother and Father aren't dead, and Sanosuke and Mikoto haven't even been in any battles yet."_

"_The Leaf Village once had many more Uchihas than just your family, Ryuu," Kakashi said gently. "Long before you were born, there were as many Uchihas as, say, Hyuugas."_

_The little boy's big black eyes widened in awe. "Wow," he breathed._

_Kakashi nodded. "When I was on my genin team, one of them was my teammate. Obito Uchiha……he was also my good friend." Ryuu looked up at his silver-haired uncle. "He gave me his eye, you know. That's why I have the Sharingan, even though I'm not an Uchiha." Ryuu gasped slightly. _

"_Is that how he died?" The question came out in a very un-Ryuu-like way, soft and timid._

_Kakashi bowed his head in sorrow. "He already knew he was dying. I had just lost my eye in the battle, so he gave me his."_

_Ryuu gulped, touching the corner of his own eye. "He must have been very brave," he murmured. Kakashi stood still, listening. "And he must have been a very good friend."_

"_More than I deserved, anyway."_

"_Huh?" Ryuu looked up at Kakashi, startled. "What do you mean?"_

_Kakashi sighed. "Nothing, kid."_

"_No," Ryuu insisted, pulling relentlessly on Kakashi's pant leg. "Tell me."_

"_Your parents would murder me for telling you this much anyway. This isn't the kind of conversation you usually have with a kid your age."_

"_I don't care!" Ryuu exclaimed, glowering in a way that reminded Kakashi forcibly of young Sakura at her most stubborn. "Tell me! You started the story, now you have to finish it!"_

_Kakashi laughed a little, to his godson's great confusion, and ruffled Ryuu's dark hair with one hand. "Your ancestor Obito was the best teammate I ever had. He taught me the true meaning of being a good ninja, and I never gave him anything in return. I feel bad about that."_

"_That's stupid," Ryuu retorted frankly. "If you never gave him anything, why would he sacrifice part of himself for you? You had to give him _something_."_

_Kakashi stared down at the tiny Uchiha, thinking what the world had come to when a six-year-old straightened out in a sentence what he'd been trying to untangle for decades. The pain was still there, boring a hole in his chest, but it had suddenly and inexplicably lessened. "Huh. Thanks, kid."_

_Ryuu grinned in pleasure at helping his uncle. "C'mon. If you go home with me, maybe Mother won't be so mad." He began towing Kakashi back down the path by the elder's index finger._

_Kakashi chortled. "Between Sakura's wrath and Mikoto's, I'll definitely pick Mikoto. She hasn't had your mother's training."_

_They reached the end of the path, where they had to go their separate ways. "What was it?" Ryuu asked, keeping Kakashi's finger hostage._

"_What was what?" the silver-haired ninja replied._

"_The true meaning of being a ninja. What Obito taught you."_

_Kakashi smiled under his mask. "You'll have to figure that out on your own, Ryuu. Every ninja does." And with a poof and a small cloud of smoke, he was gone._

_Ryuu frowned at the empty air where his surrogate uncle had just stood. "Cheater."_

_End Flashback._

Ryuu was his father's pride and biggest headache, given the former's tendencies to acting more energetically than Sasuke ever imagined possible from his offspring. However, in spite of Ryuu's antics and lack of focus, he could be extremely confident, hard-working, and reliable when he found reason to be.

Temari and Shikamaru also had a boy that year, whom they named Asuma. He was most like his dad in appearances, with similar brown hair and dark eyes, but in personality he was a disconcerting combination of both his parents. Like Shikaru and Izumi, Asuma inherited his father's IQ and his mother's biting wit, but he'd also received Shikamaru's penchant for getting bored easily and Temari's tendency toward mischievous schemes. And, as the baby of the family, he took it upon himself to entertain the entire household.

_Flashback:_

_Asuma waited patiently as his quarry came into his sights, moving steadily closer to the trap that lay in its path. Closer…closer…dang, it stopped! His prey's head whipped back and forth, as if searching—Asuma grinned. Clearly, the poor soul he was about to unleash his genius upon would rather no one know that he was here. Which, of course, was the whole purpose behind the plot. Which, by the way, was completely genius, if he did say so himself._

_The target was on the move again, inching cautiously toward the mark. He leaned in—Asuma mimicked him without realizing it, brimming with anticipation—all he had to do was wait for the target to turn his head…bingo._

_The eight-year-old dashed to the rear of the building, his staff at the ready, keeping low to the ground and avoiding dry, crackly litter. At the back door of the building (which was only a hanging curtain, for ventilation purposes), Asuma took his position, and swung his staff in an arc as hard as he could at the curtain. The actual rod stopped three inches short of the fabric, but the gust of wind that followed it blew through the building with the strength of a gale-force wind._

_Neither those inside, nor the prey out front saw it coming._

_The young ladies inside were swept off their feet and sent sailing out of the front entrance, only to literally crash into a deeply mortified Ebisu. From the enraged squeals and apologetic protests issuing from the other side of the building, Asuma could tell his operation had been a complete success. He rolled on the grass, his raucous laughter unheard over the commotion with Ebisu and the bathhouse customers._

"_Ahem." Asuma froze as two giant shadows loomed over him, and he looked way up into the faces of his mom and dad. Shikamaru stood with his arms crossed over his chest; Temari had her hands on her hips and one eyebrow quirked in her "just what do you think _you're_ doing?" look. Very bad signs._

"_So this is what you do when you so masterfully avoid your chores," Temari said in disgust. "Shikaru naps or watches clouds, Izumi actually does her work, and you torment the Village's closet perverts." She shook her head slowly. "Pitiful."_

_Asuma winced, waiting for the storm that was about to burst forth._

"_I mean, honestly, if you're going to do something, do it _right_! With your intelligence, you should be able so come up with something more creative than this parlor trick."_

_Asuma stared; Shikamaru nodded in agreement with his wife. "You also had ninjutsu on your side—wind chakra _and _shadow techniques. You'll never beat Shikaru at Shogi, let alone me, if you limit your strategies like this."_

_Asuma cocked his head. "Strategies?" he questioned, his tone doubtful. "How can you strategize a prank? And, come on, it took a lot of training to get my wind up to that power level."_

_Shikamaru shook his head. "Strategizing is the same thing as planning, Asuma. But you need to work on the details of your plans. This, for instance, was incredibly sloppy."_

_Asuma jumped to his feet, so fully engrossed that he forgot to be surprised at the turn this conversation had taken. "Sloppy?" he demanded in a disbelieving tone._

"_This scenario leaves Ebisu room for excuse," Temari explained. "He could say that he was just passing by, taking his lunch break. It's noon, and there are plenty of restaurants around here, so it's a reasonable alibi."_

"_Above all, though, you brought the girls to him," Shikamaru cut in. "That puts them at fault, not him. They were the ones that came soaring out of the bathhouse and into him. Plus, you'll find no official record to back up the fact that Ebisu's ever peeked on the women's baths before."_

_Asuma scratched his head, processing the pointers his parents had just given him. "I left a lot of factors to chance," he remarked with growing horror. "The time, the circumstances, the environment…"_

_Shikamaru nodded. "You do that in a battle, or when you're in command, and everything goes down the toilet. Strong strategies save lives; weak ones waste them."_

"_Oh, and for the record," Temari added. "If either of us _ever_ catches you misbehaving like this again, swallowing a cactus whole will seem pleasurable when compared to your punishment. Have I made myself clear?"_

_Asuma shrank in on himself in the face of his mother's wrath. "Yes, Mom."_

_End Flashback._

Because both Ryuu and Asuma were so tightly wound, Hokage Uzumaki was careful to pair them with a very calm, grounded kunoichi-in-training for their genin team.

Kimi Hyuuga was her father's daughter. She possessed his pale complexion, dark hair, pupil-less lavender eyes, ambition, and reserved nature. Only, she insisted on wearing her long hair in the same double bun style as her mother, and her personality was decidedly more carefree and kindly. For, unlike their father, neither Hizashi nor Kimi ever knew the pain of the Hyuuga's Cursed Seal on their forehead.

Also like Neji, Kimi focused her training solely on developing her Byakugan. She was a natural at the Gentle Fist techniques, and the Hyuuga elders predicted that she would become almost as much of an adept as her father, in spite of the fact that she wasn't the genius Hizashi was.

_Flashback:_

"_Oh, it's you."_

_Asuma and Ryuu frowned, displeased with the dismissive tone Hanabi Hyuuga used when she answered the door of the Hyuuga's indoor training courts._

"_They have come to meet Miss Kimi, Lady Hanabi," their side branch escort supplied._

"_She's busy." Hanabi said it with finality._

"_Kimi said to meet her here," Ryuu persisted. "We're supposed to meet our sensei together, and we're already late."_

"_And waiting around like this is such a drag," Asuma whined._

_Hanabi opened her mouth to argue, but a tall, pale man in Hyuuga robes appeared at her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Lord Hiashi invites them in," he said, his voice quiet, calm, and confident. He eyed his daughter's knew teammates with a pale, piercing gaze. "Come."_

_Hanabi frowned, but allowed Asuma and Ryuu passage. The two genin followed Neji into the training courts, drinking in the sparring members of the Hyuuga clan with unabashed interest._

"_Here we are," Neji said at length, indicating a court with several older clansmen, Lord Hiashi included, clustered around the boundaries. Neji whispered to a few of them, and they shifted ever so slightly to afford Asuma and Ryuu a better view. _

_Kimi sparred with her brother, Hizashi, at the center of the court. Asuma and Ryuu stared at the teammate, dumbstruck by her intensity and speed. Kimi darted around Hizashi, jabbing at him with her hands. These she held stiffly open, fingers closed as if glued together. She never actually landed a blow, but neither did Hizashi._

"_Wow, she's good," said Ryuu enthusiastically._

"_Hm," Asuma responded. "Hizashi's holding back."_

_Ryuu snapped his head toward the other boy. "What?"_

"_He's more relaxed than Kimi is, but he's doing just as well," Asuma explained. "He's also a chuunin, set to take the jounin exam next month. Kimi just graduated from the Academy. And, even though it's a well-known fact that Hizashi has more Byakugan-and-weapon combinations than you can count, he's only using Gentle Fist techniques. He's holding back."_

_Ryuu shook his head, amazed. "Gee, you're sharp, Asuma."_

"_I had good teachers."_

_Something changed in the atmosphere around Hizashi and Kimi. The twelve-year-old panted and shook sweat out of her eyes, losing ground to her brother. Hizashi pushed her to keep up with his vigorous pace._

"_Come _on_, Kimi!" he nagged, battering her defenses. "Focus! Get your head back into the battle! Never lose sight of your opponent!"_

_Kimi gritted her teeth, a ferocious look entering into her pale eyes. She flew at Hizashi with newfound energy, putting him on the defensive, seeking for a hole in his guard. Throughout her bombardment, her brother was careful not to exceed a certain level of proficiency. This was a test. Finally, it happened—Kimi's blade-like hand snaked into an opening and halted an inch away from Hizashi's face. The pair froze._

_The elders surrounding the training court clapped politely. "Congratulations, Kimiko," said the one with the most wrinkles. "You have passed the Beginner level of Gentle Fist techniques. You are now an Intermediate student. We look forward to even more accomplishments in your future." Kimi and Hizashi bowed to the elders, who returned a shadow of the gesture, and left._

_Hizashi straightened and draped a fond arm around his sister's slim shoulders. "About time, small fry," he teased. "You had me worrying that you wouldn't pass before you joined your genin team."_

"_It was a close call," Neji agreed, leading Ryuu and Asuma over to his children. "Congratulations, Kimi."_

"_Thanks, Daddy," she replied. She eyed Asuma and Ryuu as she wiped the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve. "You're early."_

"_You're late," Asuma shot back._

_Ryuu's response was a little more enthusiastic. "Yeah, Kimi, sheesh! We were supposed to meet our sensei ten minutes ago! You were the one who made such a big deal out of being on time!"_

_Kimi raised an eyebrow and propped her hands on her hips. "Our sensei was trained by Shikamaru Nara, the laziest ninja genius in the village—no offense, Asuma."_

_Asuma shrugged. "None taken. He's proud of it."_

"_The point is, he probably won't care if we're a little late. He's either asleep at the meeting place or late himself."_

"_Bet he's asleep," Asuma muttered. "Hajime was always like my dad like that."_

"_Hajime Yuhi?" Hizashi inquired. "Kurenai Yuhi's son?"_

"_Yup," Asuma answered. "But no matter who he is, he'll still probably give us a hard time for being late, so can we please hurry? A lecture will be such a drag!"_

"_We can always say we got lost on the road of life," Ryuu offered. When Asuma and Kimi face-palmed and Neji and Hizashi sweat-dropped, he protested, "What? It works for my Uncle Kakashi all the time!" _

_End Flashback_

Kimi Hyuuga, Asuma Nara, and Ryuu Uchiha became yet another accomplished genin team under the tutelage of Hajime Yuhi, a young jounin with Kurenai's red eyes, Asuma Sarutobi's olive complexion, and both his parents' black hair. And thus, the Leaf Village's first ever Team 9 was formed.

_**AN: Again, sorry if that was a little disjointed. Writer's block should be in a medical dictionary, because it FEELS like a disease.**_

_**Review or…or…or I'll kidnap Gaara and tell everyone it was YOU. And yes, naruto watching freak, the threats shall continue. I have an evil mind like that. :3**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**AN: Um, yeah. I'm just going to thank the nice people for reviewing last chapter now…**_

_**--RealBookAholic**_

_**--Yukixshuu**_

_**--waterblossemangel13 (oh, yeah, so more Dai butt-whooping is about to unfold)**_

_**--cherryluver19 (you're awesome, you know that?)**_

_**--Rosabelle The Sarcastic (you flatter me, dear Madame)**_

_**--Dictionary Ink (the KibaIno spawn is coming, I promise!)**_

_**--wolfrider93 (I'm sure Gaara is very happy in your custody)**_

_**--Tobi'sgoodgirllovesSasuSaku (eh, watched Supernatural, didn't really get it)**_

_**--AkatsukiGirlMatsuri (I'm thinking of writing a one- or two-shot about the Sand descedants—whatcha think?)**_

_**--RainingSprinklesDownMyThroat**_

_**Disclaiming now…begging forgiveness for dying now…getting on with the story now…**_

Chapter 6: Team Guy II

The descendants of the Leaf Twelve were as essential to the village's wellbeing as their parents. They were vibrant, strong, clever, charming, and irrevocably devoted to their Village. Everyone knew them, and almost everyone adored them.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

The last batch of the new generation was born eight full years after the birth of Kiyomi Uzumaki, Sanosuke Uchiha, and Hizashi Hyuuga. Though two of them were an extension of large families, the third—an only child—was highly anticipated and dearly loved.

Inoka Inuzuka. Her parents, Kiba and Ino Inuzuka, had tried for nearly a decade to join the happy ranks their friends occupied, without success. Three pregnancies ended in blood on Ino's part and tears on both hers and Kiba's. A couple with inferior love would have drifted apart in the face of such unspeakable tragedies, but the unconquerable Inuzukas only drew closer together. With their friends' never-ending support and compassion to draw on, the couple found the courage to keep trying. And at long last, their efforts came to fruition.

Inoka was born with her mother's cornsilk hair and her father's fierce brown eyes. The naturally flawless skin on her cheeks bore the red, fang-like tattoos of the Inuzuka clan. And, also like Kiba, Inoka was never without her canine partner Hoshi, a pup from one of Akamaru's litters. The happy-go-lucky dog had chocolate brown fur and creamy white paws, nose, and tip of her tail. Hoshi's carefree personality perfectly offset that of her mistress, whose ferocity and never-die attitude rivaled Kiba's. Inoka was a tough, competitive girl, but with a massive soft spot for her mother's flower shop and the Inuzuka dogs. However, that soft spot usually manifested itself in a rather…destructive way.

_Flashback:_

_Little Inoka gleefully handed over a bouquet of Mother's Day daisies to her latest customer. "Here you go, Choutaro. Your mom will love these."_

_Big-boned, auburn-haired Choutaro grinned and accepted the flowers. "Thanks, Inoka. When do you get to take a break? Do you want to get something to eat with Shikaru and Asuma and me?"_

_Shikaru, leaning against the counter nearby, rolled his eyes. "Let me guess—barbecue again?"_

_Asuma groaned. "C'mon, Choutaro, don't you eat anything else? Even Minato eats something besides ramen every once in a while."_

_Choutaro shrugged. "After we—okay, fine," he conceded at his friends' looks, "after _I_ eat, I'll help you train some more."_

_Asuma perked up at that, but Shikaru remained impassive. Inoka giggled. She was the youngest of their little group, because Choutaro had been born a year before her, and she used her baby sisterly wiles shamelessly against her surrogate big brothers. "Please, Shikaru?" she whimpered, copying the wide-eyed look Hoshi used whenever she wanted a belly rub. Not even Inoka's tough-as-nails Grandma Inuzuka could resist that look, so Shikaru certainly never stood a chance. Inoka smiled on the inside when she saw his Adam's apple bob with a nervous gulp. "I never see you anymore, not since you joined your genin team. I miss you."_

_Shikaru sagged slightly, beaten. "Fine, fine, I'll eat the stinkin' barbeque. What a drag."_

_Choutaro pumped his fist in the air triumphantly. "All right! Let's go save some seats, guys! We'll send one of us back for you soon, Inoka!" And the big-boned youth dragged his two best friends out of the shop with cheerful gusto._

_Inoka laughed at her friends as they left; Hoshi whuffed her amusement from her place peeking out of her mistress's jacket. Inoka swept her long white blonde ponytail forward absently, cleaning up the clippings from Choutaro's daisies. She barely looked up when the familiar bell rang over the door._

"_Welcome to Yamanaka Flower Shop—" Inoka stopped dead in the middle of her professional spiel. Hoshi sniffed the air and growled. _

_Dai Hikeme, the Village's resident bully despite the efforts of his superiors and peers, stood in the doorway of the flower shop. He sneered when he caught sight of Inoka behind the counter._

"_Hey, there, runt," he said, his eyes flitting around the store to reassure him of the fact that they were completely alone. He loved making fun of her name. "They really trust you to romp around in this pig sty without munching on all the flowers?"_

_Inoka glared ferociously; Hoshi snarled. "At least you're smart enough to come in here when my dad's not around. He'd kill you for looking at my mother the way you do. You're lucky _she_ never catches you, too, or you'd be fertilizer by now."_

_Dai's meaty face turned an unappealing shade of red, and his hands balled into fists. "As if I'd find that hag anything but ugly! Your mother looks and acts just like her name—like a pig!"_

_Inoka shot death rays out of her eyes as she vaulted over the low counter. "Say that again. I want a good excuse to bash your face in."_

"_Inoka?" Shikaru stepped through the door just behind Dai, making the other boy pale. "Everything all right in here?" His brown eyes sharpened like a kunai on Dai's wide back. _

"_Don't you dare get in the way, Shikaru," Inoka snapped. "I want to knock some sense into him with my own two hands—and Hoshi's four paws—if he's stupid enough to keep talking. What was that you were saying about my mother, Meathead?"_

_Dai was about to say something more, but then saw something he was not accustomed to when dealing with younger genin: absolute fearlessness. He knew instinctively that not only was this girl willing to fight him, but that she also had a fair shot at winning._

_Dai abruptly turned and strode purposefully out of the flower shop, as if he'd never meant to come there. Shikaru relaxed against the doorframe. "There might be hope for that one yet," he commented drily._

"_He's just like any other bully," Inoka replied. She resumed her place behind the counter and scratched Hoshi's ear with one hand. "He'll only pick on someone he knows he can beat. I'm kind of sad he wasn't stupid enough to let me pummel him, though. Are Choutaro and Asuma waiting at the restaurant?"_

_Shikaru let his smile spread wide. "Yeah. Can you hurry on the closing up? Waiting around like this is such a drag."_

_End Flashback_

As if the ferocious Inoka wasn't enough, the other two prominent Leaf Twelve offspring her age were just as prone to trouble.

Raiden Uzumaki was the youngest and most rambunctious of the Uzumaki brood. His eyes were the same startling shade of blue as his dad's, but he—along with the rest of his siblings—inherited the Hyuuga's Byakugan. That, and his blue-black hair, were the only things Raiden inherited from Hinata.

The baby Uzumaki was as loud and dopey as Naruto, with the same wide, toothy grin. Raiden's midnight hair spiked outward in the same crazy formation, and his skin leaned more toward Naruto's glowing olive than Hinata's flawless alabaster. He repeatedly drove his three older siblings to distraction, aggravation, and irritation with his constant pleas for attention and amateur prank ideas. There were times, however, when the Uzumaki siblings found themselves irrevocably united under Raiden's banner.

_Flashback:_

"_Please?"_

"_No."_

"_Pleeease?"_

"_No, Raiden. Ask Minato or Tsukiko."_

"_They're both with their teams! Please, Kiyomi? Please please please please pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"_

_Kiyomi groaned and gave up on her latest mission report. "Fine. What is it?"_

_Raiden leaned in intently, his excitement nearly radiating out of his expressive eyes. "Get ready for this: how about we paint whiskers on the faces of the Hokage monument!"_

_Kiyomi groaned. "Really, Raiden? That's what all this was about?"_

_Raiden looked thoroughly confused that his brilliant oldest sister didn't grasp the sheer genius of his plot. "Huh? What do you mean?"_

"_Raiden," Kiyomi said severely, "painting on the Hokage monument is a sign of great disrespect to the leaders who have built and ruled over our Village. They were the most powerful ninja of the Leaf Village, and everyone looked up to them. Everyone _still_ looks up to them, and the whole Village would be very upset with you, the son of the present Hokage, for disrespecting those who came before him."_

_Raiden hung his black spiky head, shame and guilt coursing through his veins and piercing his young heart. He hadn't meant to dishonor the past Hokages—he wanted to be Hokage one day himself! How was the village supposed to trust him enough to fill that post when he'd disrespected all the hard work of those who had come before him?_

"_I'm sorry, Kiyomi." The redhead's eyes softened at Raiden's soft and apologetic tone. "I didn't know…"_

_Kiyomi rested a gentle, loving hand on her baby brother's black head. Her sky blue eyes warmed with the camaraderie and maternal instinct of an older sibling. "Why whiskers, anyway?" she asked, hoping to lighten Raiden's heavy heart. _

_Little Raiden sniffled noisily. "I wanted to paint whiskers on the Hokages because Daddy already has them. He's the best, so I thought having whiskers would make the old Hokages feel cooler. I wanted to do it with you and Minato and Tsukiko, but you're all so busy…I never see you guys anymore…and you say you'll play with me, but you never do…I know you can't help it, because you're working hard to protect the Village, but…"_

_Kiyomi's heart clenched terribly, then ripped straight down the middle. _

_The sound of a chair scraping startled Raiden into lifting his head. Kiyomi was standing, her report lying unfinished on her desk. She bent at the waist until they were eye to eye. A familiar gleam of mischief sparkled in her eyes._

"_Let's go find Minato and Tsukiko," she said. "I think they'll come with us this time."_

_Raiden looked for a moment as if he could scarcely believe what was happening; then an ear-splitting grin broke across his young face, scrunching up his eyes into delighted slits. He pumped his fists excitedly. "All right, Kiyomi! Yeah! Oh, man, this is gonna be so much fun, I can't wait to tell Minato and Tsukiko…"_

_Kiyomi followed her little brother out of their home, smiling all the way._

_O.O_

_Naruto stood on the balcony outside the Hokage's office, letting the situation before him seep into his bones. The overpowering sense of déjà vu made him shake his head in amused disbelief._

_To his right, the seven Hokages who had preceded him looked out over the Village, eternally watching the goings-on of their people. Every one of them—Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, and Tsunade—bore three lines on each cheek in either yellow, purple, blue-green, or red. (Danzo's likeness had long since been chiseled from the place of honor amongst the best the Leaf Village had ever produced) Only the sculpture of Naruto had remained untouched._

_Something clicked in Naruto's brain as he examined the graffiti, comparing the marks to the scars that had been carved into his own cheeks. _

"_Lord Hokage?" his aide asked timidly. "Do you know the meaning of this?"_

_Quite suddenly, Naruto began to laugh, startling his aide severely. "Who did this?" the present Hokage inquired between chuckles._

_The aide blushed. "Oh, well…er, actually, Lord Hokage…the persons responsible for the, um—you see…"_

"_My kids, right?" Naruto finished kindly._

_The aide sweat-dropped. "Yes, Lord Hokage. A search for the perpetrators is being conducted as we speak."_

"_Put Kakashi and Shikamaru in charge of it," Naruto ordered. "We'll need their expertise if we want to catch my kids before sunset."_

"_Sunset, Lord Hokage?" his aide asked._

_Naruto looked up into the robin's egg sky reminiscently, smiling. "Their punishment will suit their crime—they will scrub off the graffiti by hand, by themselves. And their mother will be most upset if they aren't done in time for dinner."_

_The aide hid a smile. "Yes, Lord Hokage. It shall be done."_

_Naruto chuckled soundlessly as the aide retreated. _Like father, like son,_ he thought happily. _Like father, like son.

_End Flashback._

So, with Inoka as the ruthless warrior and Raiden as the merciless trickster, that left room on their genin team for a lovesick romantic…and who better to produce such a genin than the newly revived Uchiha clan?

Haru Uchiha was the only Uchiha boy to have the misfortune of being born with—you guessed it—pink hair. His eyes were blacker than midnight, just like his father, but his hair was as rosy as the most perfect cherry blossom. In order to compensate for this bad luck, Haru was never seen without a bandana or beanie to cover his bubblegum-colored locks.

In personality, Haru was as charming as Sasuke turned out to be, using his surprisingly good looks and considerable charisma to make friends with all the boys his age and wring the hearts of all the girls. However, as luck would have it, the one girl who rejected him out of hand was the one girl he got stuck on, and the one assigned to his genin team.

As if all that wasn't enough, the three of them were assigned to the most…er…unique (?) sensei in the village.

_Flashback:_

"_Haru! Stop staring at the lovely Inoka's sunshine hair and pay attention!" Gai commanded. "One hundred push-ups for laying down on the job!"_

_Haru blanched, blushing horribly. Raiden grinned, but resisted the urge to laugh at his friend. Inoka rolled her eyes and sighed, holding the familiar, complaining cat at arm's length. Hoshi chuckled in the almost human way only the Inuzuka dogs could do. _

"_Target acquired, sensei," Inoka said into her earpiece. "Meet at rendevous point in five minutes."_

"_Make it three-and-a-half, Inoka!" Gai proclaimed loudly. "Push yourselves! Challenge yourselves! Follow the example of my greatest pupil, Rock Lee!"_

_Inoka sweat-dropped, Raiden turned blue, and Haru recovered enough to manage a decent facepalm. "See you soon, sensei," Inoka muttered, before cutting off the connection. She gave Haru a last, scornful look before leaping off into the trees._

_Raiden and Haru followed, side by side and a safe distance behind Inoka. "You know both she and Gai will make sure you do those push-ups," Raiden said. "She hates it when you get all puppy-eyed like that."_

"_It's not like I can help it, Rai," Haru replied easily. "She's just so great—beautiful, tough, smart, funny in a mean way, I guess…"_

_Raiden snorted. "You could say the same thing about Izumi, Sayuri, Mikoto, Kimi, and ] Chika Aburame—maybe even Kiyomi and Tsukiko if you get them mad enough. What makes Inoka so special?"_

_Now it was Haru's turn to snort. "You wouldn't understand."_

"_Don't treat me like I'm stupid!"_

"_I can treat you like you're stupid when you act it. The only girls you care about are your sisters and your mom."_

"_Good thing, too, seeing how messed up you get over Inoka."_

"_Ha, ha. The point is, you really wouldn't understand. Not yet, anyway."_

"_And what is THAT supposed to mean?"_

"_Nothing. If you're too stupid to notice, I'm not going to tell you."_

_Inoka broke in, having caught the last bit of their conversation. "Oh, you mean…?"_

"_That one thing that everybody but Raiden knows about? Oh yeah."_

_Inoka laughed. "My mom and dad say it's like history's repeating itself. Apparently Hokage Naruto didn't know Lady Hinata was in love with him until they were teenagers."_

_Haru smirked, an Uchiha trademark. "That's what my mom says, too. It's kind of funny, actually."_

"_No doubt about it," Inoka replied._

"_Would you two stop it?!" Raiden cried angrily. The three landed with the soft clack of sandals on dirt road. "What the heck are you talking about?!"_

"_YOUTH, MY YOUTHFUL STUDENT!" a familiar voice exclaimed._

"_Oh crap," said Inoka._

"_Oh boy," said Raiden._

"_Oh no," said Haru._

_Gai came bounding in via a plume of gray smoke, hips cocked awkwardly and a few fingers circling one eye. "WELL DONE MY YOUTHFUL STUDENTS! YOU HAVE RETURNED IN THREE MINUTES AND TWENTY SECONDS! I TOLD YOU IT WAS YOUTHFUL FOOLISHNESS TO THINK IT WOULD TAKE YOU FIVE WHOLE MINUTES! YOUTH!!!!!!!!"_

"_Yes, sensei," came the three-part chorus/sweat-drop._

_End Flashback._

Er…yeah. In short, Haru Uchiha, Raiden Uzumaki, Inoka Inuzuka, and her partner Hoshi became the new Team Gai. The years they spent with their unusual sensei were undoubtedly the most awkward, embarrassing, educational, and hard-working years of their ninja lives.

_**AN: And that's that. I may write some spin-offs of this baby, like I mentioned to AGM earlier, but college killed my FanFiction time. Hoped you liked this chappie, cuz it was one of my favorites to write. **_

_**Btw, I'm totally looking—no, begging—someone to do some fanart of these guys. Any takers?**_

_**Review, or (as cherryluver suggested), I'll tell**__** Hidan to sacrifice you to Jashin! BEAT THAT!!!! :P**_

_**Love you guys. It's been fun. :)**_

_**CrystalDragon out. **_

_**For now ;)**_


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